Today I joined of The Panicked Writer on Live with managing editor Carl Gibson to talk about what we have been finding in the Epstein files.
I began this work after being laid off, searching government documents from home while raising three daughters and continuing the environmental advocacy that first led me to ** become Kait Justice**. Hearing Carl introduce Ellie and me as journalists whose work demonstrates why independent media matters felt surreal.
During the conversation, we discussed:
• The evidence Ellie found indicating that Epstein said he was at Trump Tower on November 13, 2016, while Donald Trump was selecting members of his first administration. The available records place Epstein in New York and around Trump Tower that morning, although we still need direct evidence establishing whom he met.
• Howard Lutnick’s documented relationship with Epstein, including their neighboring Manhattan homes, Lutnick’s carefully planned family visit to Epstein’s island, Epstein’s donation connected to an event honoring Lutnick and their involvement in AdFin.
• Operation Chain Reaction, the separate federal investigation that examined Epstein’s money, foreign models, visa records and organized crime connections.
• Allegation that Todd Blanche personally stopped the DEA from providing Congress with an unredacted copy of the sixty nine page Chain Reaction report.
• The Epstein records that remain unavailable, including additional Justice Department data sets, millions of pages Congress says have not been properly released and foreign language documents that federal investigators never translated for public review.
• The extensive banking evidence involving JPMorgan, Jes Staley and the warning signs that remained visible for years while Epstein continued receiving extraordinary treatment as a valuable client.
• Epstein’s relationships with Saudi, Russian, Israeli and other foreign officials, including his advice about Saudi sovereign wealth and financial systems that resemble some of the stablecoin structures being built today.
• The lawsuit challenging the Justice Department’s failure to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act and the possibility of contempt proceedings if DOJ continues withholding records ordered by the court.
• The unanswered questions surrounding Epstein’s death, including the disabled cameras, missing recording of his final telephone call, changes to his trust, removal from suicide watch and the extraordinary conditions that allowed his death to occur inside federal custody.
• The neglected investigation of Zorro Ranch in New Mexico, where federal agents were preparing to investigate before being instructed to stand down and allow federal authorities to take control.
We ended by talking about why we continue doing this work. Ellie and I are both mothers who understand that accountability for what happened also determines what kind of world our children inherit.
**I call myself an average informed citizen because I want people to understand that expertise is something we can build together. **You do not need permission from a newsroom, a law degree or complete knowledge of every document before you can recognize contradictions, ask intelligent questions and demand answers from the people governing in your name.
Thank you to Carl Gibson and for giving us the time to have this conversation, and thank you to everyone who has followed, subscribed, shared documents or helped us continue searching!
